The Good Life for Realtors Promise™

Are You Living the Good Life?

Why did you get into the real estate business to begin with?  Was it for the lifestyle?  The money?  The freedom?  Maybe you hoped real estate would be your path to personal fulfillment and purpose?

If things are going well right now – congratulations!  What would it take to feel even better about your business and your progress?

What Went Wrong?

For many of us, a career in real estate turned out to be a lot of empty promises.  Be honest, this is not the first time you checked out another real estate company.

We heard becoming a Realtor® would allow us to work when and how we wanted to.  But the reality is, most of us feel pressure to be on duty all of the time. 

How many times has your confidence been depleted by working with people you flat out don’t like because you have no other choice? 

What About the Money?

Yes, the real estate industry offers unlimited income potential. But let’s be honest, if you lack the resources, tools, and support to claim your share of the pie, real estate is a lousy way to make a living.

There Is a Better Way.

Welcome to ROOST Real Estate Co. and The ROOST Good Life 4 Realtors Promise™.  We can help you find the freedom, income, and purpose you know you deserve.  We want to help you live the life you always wanted to live.

When we first launched ROOST Real Estate Co. in Springfield, Ohio in January of 2014, people would ask me “How did you come up with the name ROOST?”  I would jokingly reply that “Zillow was already taken”, and to a huge degree that is true.  Here is how it happened. 

I had a pretty good idea of what I thought a real estate company should look like.  By 2013 had been in the business for almost 13 years.  I had been an agent at a successful local firm in 2001 and 2002 and became a RE/MAX franchisee in 2003.  After the downturn in 2008 I associated my team again with the same local firm and in 2012 began researching new opportunities including other franchises.

It became clear to me pretty quickly that none of the companies I met with were the right fit for me.  People I trusted urged me to create my own company but the last thing I wanted was just another local ‘Mom and Pop’ brokerage.  If I was going to do this I wanted to create a business that was both scalable and sustainable.  In other words, I wanted to be able to grow the business and I wanted it to succeed regardless of the inevitable ups and downs of the industry.

In early 2013, I met Andy Hayes who has a local business called Hucklebuck Design.  I had seen Andy’s work around town and I really liked his artistic sensibility.  Andy and I began a dialogue that spring that resulted in a set of brand ‘guidelines’ that really reflected a company I could get excited about.  The colors, the font, the core values of smart, passionate, supportive, approachable, and a clear understanding where a company like ours would fit in the industry all fell into place. 

What we needed was a name.

Now you might think that would be the easy part.  It was not.  Andy and I generated literally hundreds of names.  At one point I even conducted a naming contest online.  For every name we liked however, we had to run through three filters.  The first was a simple Google search to see if the name was already in use.  The second was trying to figure out if the Ohio Division of Real Estate would allow us to license the name.  The third was doing a trademark search to see if the name could be trademarked.

After weeks of deliberation we settled on ROOST Real Estate Co.  The selection was a result of a process of elimination.  However, I soon got excited about the name because I believe it accurately reflects something just a little bit different in the industry and in my opinion is a lot more fun.

How I Became a Realtor®

In February 2001 I was unemployed and coming off my last ‘real’ job as a District Team Leader for Target Stores on Long Island.  The job paid well but to be perfectly honest, I was not very good at having a boss.  On top of that, my job required we move every 18 months or so, and my two girls were at the age where my wife Kelly and I really wanted them to stay in the same school district until they graduated. We decided to move back to Springfield, Ohio, the town where I grew up.

I really had no idea what I wanted to do but I had recently read Robert Kyosaki’s book Rich Dad Poor Dad.  Kyosaki taught me that the best path to riches was investing in real estate.  (It was also a quick path to financial disaster but I will leave that story for another time.)  I figured a short cut to investing success was to get a real estate license as well.  Based on this rather half-baked scheme, I decided to become a Realtor®.

I had no preparation at all for becoming a 100% commission-based salesperson.  I had even fewer qualifications for being in business for myself as an independent contractor.  I had no idea what I would do after I got a real estate license.  The only thing I knew for sure was that I had to pass the Ohio real estate license exam as soon as possible so I could get back to making a living and supporting my family.  

What My ‘Training’ Looked Like

I became a Realtor® right at the time the internet was taking off.  I started going to a lot of seminars and looked to my broker for guidance.  The advice I got from almost every quarter left me disillusioned. I was told to go knock on doors, make cold calls, and walk the mall and pass out 10 business cards a day.  All I could think of is WTF had I gotten myself into?

I did make a half-hearted effort at these techniques but I just couldn’t do it.  The fact was few people were home, landlines were already on their way out, do not call laws were on their way in, and the mall in my home town was already on the decline.

Although I don’t think I was able to articulate it at the time, what I wanted was a business that I could count on.  I wanted a business I could grow.  I also needed to feed my ego and I was driven to succeed.  Most of the successful agents I met early on had been grinding it out for many years.  I did not have many years.  I needed to make something happen right now.

As much as I craved immediate results, I knew instinctively that I needed to take the long view for my business and to create advocates for my services and expertise. This meant that I needed to build a tribe of raving fans.  If I could find people willing to work with me I knew I could develop the expertise I needed to really be of greater and greater use to my clients over time.

The Players in My Office

It did not take me long to understand how the typical brokerage functioned.  I looked around the office and saw it was only the brokers and the owners of the firm that were bringing in business and new listings.   The rest of us in the ‘bull pen’ were expected to take floor time and answer the phone calls that came in on the listings ‘owned’ by the broker. 

Almost every one of my fellow agents was sitting around waiting for the phone to ring.  I thought this was crazy, especially when the listing agents and brokers started advertising their cell phone numbers and bypassing the bull pen altogether.

I needed a to create my own leads and a dependable stream of income.  There was no way I was going to rely on my broker to feed me business.  It was obvious they only needed me when they were too busy to work their own leads.  I did not realize at the time how unique this ‘market maker’ mindset was in the industry.

Working by Referral

Lucky for me within the first three or four months of getting my license I found out about Top Producer.  Back then Top Producer was a program that lived on your PC as a client relationship manager.  I don’t know if it was because of my corporate experience or just the way I look at the world, but Top Producer was the first thing about the real estate business that clicked with me.  Top Producer gave me sample letters and follow up campaigns for buyers, sellers and past clients.  It was a way to leverage every single name I added to the database. 

After 90 days of religiously working the program every day, I hired my first assistant for 10 hours a week to print the letters, sign my name, stuff the envelopes and mail them out.  Every new addition to my database was a deposit in my business ‘investment account’.  Staying in touch after every transaction meant a steady stream of referrals and the opportunity to list the home I just sold at some point in the future.  Within two years my business rivaled those practicing 10 times as long as I had and I still had room to grow.

Later, I was introduced to Brian Buffini, founder of Buffini and Company and really started to understand what it meant to operate a referral based business.  It was not long before I started dreaming of creating an entire office, and even a company, built around the principles of working by referral.  And guess what?  I did it and It works!

My Love / Hate Relationship with Zillow

Flash forward to today and those same agents who were working floor time are now working for Zillow, and paying for the privilege.  Like most of us in the business I have a love / hate relationship with Zillow.  I love the way they present listing information on their website – information they get from us for free by the way.   

I hate the hell they have created for real estate licensees who have yet to figure out how to make their own markets and create their own leads.  Zillow and all the rest of the online aggregators, figured out how to generate activity from our listings, and sell the resulting ‘leads’ back to us. 

I know agents spending thousands of dollars a month on Zillow in exchange for what are really just a few dozen unqualified inquiries a month.  Thanks to us Realtors®, Zillow has a market capitalization of over $5,000,000,000.

The idea of having to respond to what is likely an unqualified inquiry that comes to me via text or email within five minutes – at all hours of the day or night – or risk losing the ‘opportunity’, fills me with anxiety and dread.  As I write this I am freaking out.  That is no life and no way to make a living.

Our industry as a whole has outsourced our lead generation activities to third parties.  Many brokers actually encourage their agents to sign up with Zillow.  The idea of taking responsibility for generating our own business has become unheard of.  The resulting underlying stress and anxiety makes us question why we got into the business in the first place, and for many of us, why we stay.

If you expect your broker, Zillow, the latest shiny iPhone app, or any of the thousands of real estate gurus out there to build your business for you, you will fail.  Yes, you need a broker who is a partner in your success, yes, you need to employ all of the tools that will both streamline and grow your business, and yes, there are some great coaches out there, but they cannot do the work for you.  The big lie in this business is that someone else can make your market for you. 

This is What It Is Like to Be ‘Commoditized’

The internet has undoubtedly improved our productivity and our overall quality of life.  It has also made the real estate information we used to control, available for free to anyone with a web browser on their phone.  Consequently, our industry is being commoditized.  Being commoditized means that the general public sees all Realtors as essentially the same.

We cannot blame the internet for all of our problems.  The fact is we as brokers have only ourselves to blame.  Most real estate firms today don’t invest in their agents.  The ‘honest’ players in this group expect very little from their agents and invest accordingly.  These ‘body shops’ provide the bare minimum services to agents at the lowest possible cost.  They can still make money provided they have enough working agents to carry the load and the liability for the rest. 

The brokerages that make me crazy are the ones that don’t invest in their agents but continue to believe and act like they do.  These are what I call ‘legacy’ brokerages and brands that have been around for years and at one time were leaders in the industry.  As the business has changed, they have stayed the same, trading year over year on a diminishing reputation. 

These brokerages continue to charge their agents high fees in the form of a split but do nothing set themselves apart in a commoditized world.  In other words, they are charging 10X or more what the ‘honest’ brokerages charge their agents, but in reality, offer nothing new in the way of service and support.

What Makes ROOST Real Estate Co. A Different Kind of Brokerage

My dream of creating a real estate brokerage I wanted to work at came to fruition in January 2014 when ROOST Real Estate Co. was licensed and opened for business in Springfield Ohio.  I attribute our success to our core values:

• We work by referral.
• We know that relationships are infinitely more valuable than transactions.
• We understand that to succeed magnificently we must always provide more value and expertise to our clients and customers than we may initially be paid for.
• We provide continuous support for every person in the organization with a desire to expand their individual skills and capabilities.
• There is great strength in the intentional identification, and exercise, of the unique talents and abilities of everyone we work with.  When everyone is free to do what they do best, we all do better.
• There is immense satisfaction in the consistent application of documented best practices and processes when serving the needs of our clients, team members, agents, and partners.

Our company, and more importantly our agents, have enjoyed double digit growth year over year, each of the last four years.  We are making great progress towards myour goal of leading the industry in average agent productivity.

In addition, we have expanded to nearby Dayton Ohio, and the Space Coast of Florida.  We are currently focused on expanding in Columbus, Ohio and gaining a foothold in Nashville, TN.

We are also beginning to market ROOST Real Estate Co. franchises in Ohio, Florida and Tennessee, as well as franchises for our ‘twin’ company Lucky Town Real Estate Co. in the remaining 47 states.

One of the keys to our agents’ success is The Quick Start Game Plan™.  The plan ensures that when an agent joins our company, they hit the ground running.  When properly executed, agents see an immediate and increase in their personal market making activities.  We have seen agents’ average monthly income increase by as much as 85% in their first five months with us compared to their last year with their previous company. 

This I Believe

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

We teach, train, and support our agents to become Market Makers and create self-sustaining and growing personal businesses.  We provide our agents with the tools, the tech, the culture, the coaching, and the personalized marketing and advertising they need to be recognized as the industry leaders they are.  We are partners in our agents’ success and support their lifelong growth and development.

My Life’s Work

I created The ROOST Good Life 4 Realtors Promise ™ so that our agents could experience all that a career in real estate can offer.  I want our agents to make the living they want to make to support their personal dreams and ambitions.  I want them to enjoy the freedoms of time, relationship and purpose that only this wonderful industry of ours makes possible.

I have been actively working on ROOST Real Estate Co. since early 2013.  That is nearly five years of personal commitment to the vision that has become my life’s work.  If I am honest with myself, my journey to ROOST began within just a few months of getting my real estate license in 2001.  All I learned as an agent, a broker, a RE/MAX franchisee, going through the great recession of 2008 and 2009, and working as a manager for a local independent firm, gave me the raw material I needed to understand how to make a difference.

I have invested every spare moment I have had these last five years creating and building this company.  While I could have made a lot more money during this time if had focused my efforts strictly on serving the client base I’ve built using the techniques that make up The ROOST Good Life 4 Realtors Promise™, my calling was always to build something greater than my own production.

My Unique Ability

To paraphrase Steve Jobs, founder of Apple, my goal is to make a dent in the real estate universe, and to help others do the same.  My unique ability is creating business opportunities and strategies that support and add value to real estate professionals and the clients they serve.  My greatest satisfaction in life comes when I am free to work within the confines of my unique ability.  If all of us focus exclusively on what we love and do best, and build a team around us to do the rest, we all succeed magnificently.

ROOST Real Estate Co. agents are free to focus exclusively on their client relationships.  They can do this because we take everything else off their plates.  We execute personalized marketing and advertising plans for every agent we serve, all designed to facilitate building and growing a referral based business.  The moment an agent transfers their license to one of our offices, a whole series of events take place to ensure that they hit the ground running.

Our agents are some of the most productive in the industry.  They complete more transactions on average than any other agent group.  The training and technology we provide is designed to eliminate the distractions that take agents away from what they do best – namely working one on one with clients and customers. 

We use technology to promote our agents and to facilitate collaboration with their clients.  We use technology to communicate and stay connected.  We use technology to streamline the backstage work of getting a client to the closing table.  And to top it all off, we offer a pretty good cup of coffee to go.

The ROOST Good Life 4 Realtors Promise™ contains eight main components that form the basis of our partnership with our agents.

1. The Four Freedoms for The Real Estate Professional

I do not see the point of being in the real estate business at all if it does not allow for a superior way of life.  There is way too much risk, hard work and potential heartache involved.  Let’s face it, there are easier ways to make a living.  Successful entrepreneurs enjoy four ‘freedoms’.  The freedom of money, the freedom of time, the freedom of relationship, and the freedom of purpose.  It is these freedoms that make being a real estate professional the best career in the world.

We help you build a self-sustaining business so you can experience the freedoms of money, time, relationship, and purpose.

2. The Training and Development Commitment

The ROOST Real Estate Co. Broker/Partners are also Buffini and Company Certified Trainers.  Buffini and Company is the leading real estate coaching and development company on the planet.  Our association with Buffini and Company provides our agents with training that enhances and reinforces our referral and relationship based business model.

We partner with the finest real estate training and coaching companies on the planet so you are can continuously improve your performance and increase your value to your clients.

3. The Market Maker Advantage™

Give a man a fish and you feed him for the day.  Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.  Hand real estate agent a lead and he may make her next mortgage payment.  Teach a real estate agent how to become a market maker and money will cease to be a concern.

We show you how to make your own market so you will never again be dependent on anyone for your next commission check.

4. The Quick Start Game Plan™

By some estimates agents lose an average of 20% of their income during a transition to a new firm.  At ROOST Real Estate Co. we attack this concern headlong with our Quick Start Game Plan™.  Our brokers and Agent Service Managers begin working with new agents prior to transferring their license to ensure they hit the ground running.  In our experience, agents can expect an increase in business activity within days of joining our company.

We make the investment in your future on day one so you get an immediate bump in your business building opportunities.

5. The Agent Service Manager

A key member of each office staff is the Agent Service Manager (ASM).  The Agent Service Manager’s sole responsibility is to support the daily business activities of the agents assigned to him or her.  The ASM manages all of the agent services we provide and guarantees ongoing training and support as needed.  The ASM’s number one goal at ROOST Real Estate Co. to ensure that our agents are getting the greatest benefit from the tools we provide. 

The Agent Service Manager is the personal assistant you need so you can spend more time doing what you do best

6. The Rhythm of our Business

There is an annual rhythm to our business.  There is a seasonality to the market.  We need to be aware of it and we need to make it work for us.  I have my tracked my productivity and the productivity of my agents for several years.  I know exactly when we need to be ‘in’ the business, working ‘on’ the business, and when we need to focus on recovery and rejuvenation – so we can go out and do all over again.

We will show you how to ‘go with the flow’ and plan your year so that you can go all in when it makes sense, and recover and celebrate before you start to burn out.

7. Your Pay Your Way™

Our commitment is to make it possible for our agents to make and keep every dollar they possibly can while supporting every aspect of their business.  In return for the commission split we retain, we provide unsurpassed service, support, marketing, training, and technology.  We have a pay plan for every agent at every stage of their career.

Your Pay Your Way™ is transparent, easy to understand, and flexible so you can count on the industry leading compensation you deserve.

8. Your Brokerage for Life

We expect to be the only brokerage you will ever need.  Our goal is to grow, adapt, and create whatever new capabilities are necessary to support you as our industry continues to change over time.  We are alert to changes in the market and the ever-changing needs of our associates and clients.  We will not be left behind.  We will not allow you to be left behind.

We pledge to always be creating strategies to support your personal growth so you never need look outside the company for your next big opportunity.

I look at our steady growth and the long-term relationships we have with our agents as the true measures of our success.  There is a good chance you heard about our company from one of our agents.  If not, here are some of the things our most successful agents have to say about ROOST Real Estate Co.

“What I love about ROOST Real Estate Co. is that the brand really sums up what we want to be and what we want to do.  We make the process of buying, selling, and investing more approachable, relaxed, and generally less intimidating than it sometimes is. The support I receive from Chris when it comes to taking care of my clients is second to none.”  Jennifer Webster Realtor since 2005

“Being a new agent I was really looking for training and support to help me get my career off the ground.  ROOST Real Estate Co. gave me that and more.  I am learning how to build my business by referral and how to make my own market – a business that is mine and nobody else’s.”  Brittany Stover, Realtor since 2014.

“I’ve had my real estate license for well over 20 years now.  I was excited to make the move to ROOST but I was concerned about my business taking a hit.  Like most Realtors I cannot afford down time and the idea of switching brokerages created a lot of anxiety for me.  As soon as I transferred my license however, the entire ROOST team worked together to make me feel welcome and make sure I was up and running right away.  I really appreciate their concern for me and for my clients.”  Priscilla Sims, Realtor since 1993.

“I’ve worked with Chris for almost 15 years now.  We were actually partners back in our RE/MAX days.  I’ve seen Chris in good times and bad.  At the end of the day he always comes through with the best interest of his agents as his top priority.  I am so impressed with what he has done with ROOST and I am happy to be a part of it.”  Diedre Koik, Broker Associate, Realtor since 1995.

Make a Clean Break and Increase Your Sales

The two biggest concerns we hear from agents who want to join our brokerage are losing income during the transition, and the emotional turmoil involved with telling their current broker or manager that they are leaving.  There is nothing harder than telling someone you are moving on regardless of how good a business decision you know it is.  Even if you are angry at or disappointed in the company you are leaving, the act of resigning causes anxiety for many of us.

I wish we had a solution for this but we don’t.  We suggest writing a formal resignation letter and asking for a one on one meeting.  There is no reason to get too deeply into the details at this point as chances are your manager already senses something is amiss.  Be the professional you are but you owe it to yourself and your future to make a clean break and allow yourself to get excited about this new chapter in your life.

Agents should be concerned about losing income during the transition to a new brokerage.  By some estimates agents lose an average of 20% of their business during the transition to a new firm.  At ROOST Real Estate Co. we attack this concern head on with the Quick Start Game Plan™.  Our brokers and Agent Service Managers begin to work with our new agents prior to actually making the move to ensure they hit the ground running.  In our experience agents can expect an increase in business activity within days of joining. 

In a perfect world, an experienced agent joining our company will be able to give us a few days lead time before moving their license.  This allows us to put everything in place that an agent needs to make a huge impact in the market on day one.  Of course, things usually happen much faster and unexpectedly, so we adjust accordingly

While it is impossible to show you all the benefits we offer, here are some of the things you can expect on or before the day you move your license:

• Order yard signs and name slats.
• Order new business cards.
• Get ‘action shot’ pictures taken for new personalized website.
• Complete the 10 questions for your personalized website.
• Order personalized All About ROOST cards for welcome mailing to your database.
• Create @ROOSTRealEstateCo.com forwarding email.
• Create .CSV or Excel file of database for welcome mailing.
• Obtain new office phone number and phone.
• Create new Dotloop account and Showing Service accounts 
• Finalize cover letter for welcome mailing.
• Complete the personalized website build.
• Get new listing paperwork together in new Dotloop account.
• Set up Referral Maker and import .CSV file for first Item of Value mailing.
• Agent Facebook page setup and ‘boost’ plan. 
• Invite friends to like new branded social media pages.
• Notify current broker of your move.
• Overnight paperwork or visit the Division of Real Estate in person.
• Release the personalized mailer to agent’s database.
• Launch the website with agent’s personal web address.
• Promote ‘Welcome Agent’ and personalized website on company Facebook and Twitter pages.
• Get new listing agreements signed with sellers.
• Place new signs in yards.
• Deliver new Board of Realtor and MLS paperwork
• Transfer Listings in MLS(s).

Your Agent Business Manager and broker/manager will be instrumental in helping you make sure all of this – and more – happen your first 72 hours with us.  As you can see our goal is to ensure your transition is seamless and actually gives you an immediate income bump.  It is an exciting and emotional first few days.  Be ready – you are going to be busy.

How Much Would You Pay to Live the Good Life?

How do you put a price on the opportunity to finally have a fighting chance to have the real estate career you always dreamed of?  How do you put a price on knowing your broker has your back and wants to see you succeed in any market?  I’m not sure you can, but I guarantee your return will be worth your time, money and effort.

Our compensation plan is called Your Pay Your Way™.  Your Pay Your Way™ is designed to be transparent, easy to understand, and most of all flexible.  It is designed to support the goals of the agent, the brokerage, and the ROOST Real Estate Co. mission and brand values.

We want to be the first and last brokerage our agents work with.

We want to be your brokerage for life.  Wherever you are in your business, a new licensee, an experienced professional, a team leader, or an agent ready open your own shop, we have the opportunities you need to succeed and grow on your terms over the course of your entire career.

Anytime an agent puts themselves through the emotional upheaval of changing brokerages, they are taking a leap of faith that their new broker has their best interests and goals at heart. 

We at ROOST™ are always looking for ways to express our gratitude and appreciation to our agents for choosing us.  Ours is a relationship with our agents.  We are not interested in a simple series of transactions.

Our Goal is For Every Agent to Earn At Least $100,000 Every Year

We want to see every one of our agents earn at least $100,000 in gross commissions each year.  If that agent is on a 70/30 split they are paid $70,000 and the brokerage retains $30,000.  The only additional expense an agent has are their local board and MLS(s) dues and a $30.00 monthly fee for errors and omission insurance. 

What if this agent has a great year and hits their $100,000 sales goal at the end of September and still has several closings in the last quarter of the year?  Once the brokerage gets to $30,000 the agent keeps 90% of every dollar they earned for the rest of the year.  This compensates the agent at or above the industry average and allows the brokerage to continue to grow, upgrade, and offer new services over time.

For a new agent just starting out, we offer full service and support with a 60/40 split.  60 percent of every dollar the agent earns is paid to the agent and 40% is retained by the brokerage.  The agent is responsible for their monthly MLS(s) fees and a monthly Errors and Omissions Insurance fee of $30 per month.

Agents with a proven track record earning more than $150,000 per year may negotiate up to a 90/10 split with the monthly Franchise and Marketing Fee, the Shared Office expense, the Administrative Staff fee, and the Basic Agent and Technology Services Package covered with an additional monthly payment. The agent is responsible for their monthly MLS(s) fees and a monthly Errors and Omissions Insurance fee of $30 per month.

ROOST Real Estate Co. is also the best place for teams to set up shop.  10% of commission dollars earned by team members are retained by the brokerage and the Team Leader pays a negotiated monthly fee for the Franchise and Marketing Fee, Shared Office expense, Administrative, and Basic Agent Service and Technology Package fees to the broker/owner.

The Team Leader is responsible for their monthly MLS(s) fees and a monthly Errors and Omissions Insurance fee of $30 per month per licensed team member.  For a complete description of Your Pay Your Way™ for teams, visit www.ROOSTCelebratesAgentTeams.com.

ROOST Keeps 30% – Where Does That Money Go?

Over the course of a career, an agent is going to pay their brokerage tens of thousands of dollars in the form of expenses, fees, or splits.  Personal, emotional, and financial commitments of this magnitude deserve the very the best the broker owner and ROOST Real Estate Co. can offer.  ROOST Real Estate Co. brokers have five financial commitments they must meet month after month.  This is where the commission dollars you split with the brokerage go.

The first financial commitment a broker owner has is the ROOST Monthly Franchise and Marketing Fee.  This money is used by ROOST Real Estate Co. to continue to expand the brand through social and other electronic media, upgrade our print materials, and to keep the company fresh and forward thinking.  This fee is equal to 5% of sales and is payable by the broker monthly to ROOST Real Estate Co. 

This fee is capped through year 2020 at 5% of gross agent sales or a maximum of $5,000 per agent per year.  And, unlike the national franchises, ROOST does not collect transaction fees or annual dues of any kind.

The second commitment the Broker has is the Shared Facility Expense.  This fee is collected to cover the overhead of the physical office space including, rent or mortgage payments, office equipment, phone services and all of the things required to maintain a business.  This fee is equal to 5% of sales and is retained by the broker. 

This fee is also capped through 2020 at 5% of sales per agent per year to a maximum of $5000. 

The third commitment the Broker has is to the Administrative Staff including the Agent Service Manager(s) or ASM’s.  Whether an office has 5 agents or 50 agents, administrative functions have to be completed by someone and even if this is done in the early days by the broker himself, there is a cost involved.  This fee is equal to 5% of sales and is retained by the broker.

This fee is also capped through 2020 at 5% of sales per agent per year to a maximum of $5,000. 

The fourth commitment the Broker has is to the Basic Agent Service and Technology Package.  We want our agents focused on working with buyers and sellers.  We do not want our agents doing basic marketing and promotion, setting up showings, or filling out contracts with pen and paper.  The Basic Service and Technology Package is a commitment from your broker to provide the following:

• Ongoing support for agent training and development.  Our brokers are Buffini and Company Certified trainers for Peak Performers – quite simply the finest working by referral training program in the world.

• Up to 100 personalized monthly item of value members to the very best referral sources in your database.

• Buffini and Company Referral Maker CRM – The best contact management software in the real estate industry.  If an agent elects to pursue personal coaching with Buffini and Company – which includes Referral Maker – the brokerage will help pay for it up to the cost of Referral Maker as a stand-alone product.

• Dotloop paperless office.  Create contracts and get them signed from anywhere there is an internet connection.  Save time and better serve your clients.

• Presentation Brochures – Personalized and branded items to reinforce your place with your clients and customers.

• Centralized Showing Service – Never have to stop what you are doing again to set up a showing.  CSS also allows you to share feedback from cooperating agents electronically.

• Dedicated personal cloud-based telephone integrated with the corporate phone system.

• Professionally managed web and social media pages.

The actual cost of these services alone to the brokerage runs from $500 to as much as $1000 per month per agent depending on location.  There is also a tremendous amount of time involved in working with agents to get the full benefit of the Basic Agent Services and Technology Package. 

This fee is also capped at a maximum of $5,000 a year or 5% of sales through 2020.  In our experience agents who take advantage of these services see an immediate increase in productivity of 15 to 20%.

The Fifth Commitment is to the broker owner herself – The Broker Service Fee.  Every fee we have defined so far exists to cover the cost of owning and operating a brokerage.  Every entrepreneur expects a return on their investment of time and capital.  ROOST broker owners are no different.  This is where the Broker Service Fee comes in.

As you will note above, the monthly Franchise and Marketing Fee, the Shared Facility Expense, the Administrative Staff fee, and the Basic Agent Services and Technology Package add up to 20% of every commission dollar earned by an agent. 

However, the most an agent will ever pay in any calendar year for these fees is $20,000 regardless of how much they earn.  These fees are capped to cover actual costs and no more.

The Broker Service fee is equal to 10% of every commission dollar earned by every agent.  There is no cap on this fee.  Whether an agent earns $100,000 or $1,000,000 over the course of the year, the brokerage will retain 10%.  We structured our fees this way to ensure the broker owners are rewarded and motivated to support elite producers regardless of their volume.

I Believe in You

I am so confident in you, and the effectiveness of The Quick Start Game Plan™, that I will take on all the initial upfront investment to get you started.  That means you can join ROOST Real Estate Co. today FOR FREE.  I am betting on your success out of the gate. 

ROOST is not for everyone, but for a select group of agents who want to be heroes to their clients day in and day out, the job satisfaction and the potential income are unlimited.  We expect great things from our agents and we know they expect great things from us.  We will not let you down.

Just imagine what your life is going to be like just a few short weeks after joining ROOST Real Estate Co.  You can expect to be as busy, or likely busier, than you have ever been.  You will be renewing past relationships and creating new ones.  As your income grows so will your free time and your confidence in the value you bring to the market place.  Before you know it, you will start to experience success on your terms.

Join ROOST Real Estate Co. today with zero out of pocket investment and all the benefits the day you move your license.  In addition to the Basic Agent Services and Technology Package detailed earlier, new agents will receive as many personalized yard signs they need, and 1000 business cards. 

For those of you ready to join us, get ready to experience the good life.  Once you get a taste of what’s possible, you will never go back to the way things were.  Call or email me today and set up a time to interview us.  You’ll be glad you did.

I Believe in ROOST Real Estate Co.

We would love for you to join our company but honestly, it really doesn’t matter if you sign up today or not.  We will continue to focus on our clients, increase our market share, make our numbers, and watch our agents steadily increase their income with greater and greater personal freedom.  I know it sounds a little harsh, but without our help you will continue to work harder and make far less money than you are deserve.

Would you like to know your Market Maker Advantage Score?

Want to Learn More About the Market Maker Advantage™?  I’d love to sign you up with our company today, but before we go any further, take 20 minutes to complete this scorecard.  I guarantee it will give you a better understanding of what we are all about.  Take your time and fill in the comment sections too. Click Here.

Once you discover your score, you will be on the road to The Good Life.  Wherever your score lies, you have the power to design the life you want and deserve.  We can help you leverage your unique abilities, strengths, and experiences to make an ever-greater contribution to the world of real estate.

After you complete the scorecard we will email you a link to a free copy of my e-book called Your Market Maker Mindset Scorecard – The Eight Mindsets Growing or Slowing Your Business Right Now.  Even if you decide that a career with ROOST Real Estate is not right for you, I guarantee you will find value in this easy to read pdf.

Thank You for Your Time and Attention

ROOST Real Estate Co. is the real estate company I have always wanted to work at.  ROOST is the product of my experience as an agent, broker, owner, trainer, and team leader.  ROOST is about building and maintaining relationships, continuously adding value, and earning the referrals that give us the opportunity to do it all over again with new clients.

There is nothing more gratifying than helping somebody make a move they have been preparing their entire lives to make.  The real estate business has been incredibly good to me.  I am grateful for every opportunity I have been given.

Thank you for taking the time to learn about our business.  If you think joining us is the best thing for your business, give us a shout.  Regardless of where your career takes you I wish you The Good Life. 

Care To Learn More About Our Company?

• Try the new Market Maker Advantage Scorecard.  Score yourself on the eight mindsets that are either growing or slowing your business right now.  www.MarketMakerScorecard.com. 

• Fille out the form below for a FREE download of my book A Realtor’s Guide to Mad Market Making Skills – The Eight Mindsets That Make The Difference Between Simply Surviving And Creating A Real Estate Business That Works For You

• If you’re ready make the leap and live the good life, email me directly at Chris@ROOSTRealEstateCo.com with ‘Let’s Start’ in the subject line.